Ironhelm - Douglas Niles [62]
The Payit army moved smoothly, two abreast, but Gultec still felt a vague unease. Certainly they would outnumber the strangers, but the appearance of these newcomers was so unusual and their equipment seemed so mighty that Gultec could not feel utterly confident about fighting them. Then again, perhaps the encounter would not come to battle.
Suddenly a figure joined Gultec beside the trail, and he turned to see the rotund cleric Kachin studying him. The man's gray hair, still tied in a single knot, hung over his shoulder and down to his belt. The Jaguar Knight felt a momentary urge to turn into the jungle, to vanish in his feline form. Instead, he met the gaze of the cleric squarely.
"There is hesitation all around," remarked Kachin casually. "No one, not even the Revered Counselor of Ulatos, Caxal himself, knows what to make of these visitors. Do they invade us, Gultec?" The Jaguar Knight studied the cleric as the man spoke, puzzling over his simple white mantle, protruding belly, and round face. He looked so unusual, not at all like the filthy, emaciated clerics of the younger gods. Gultec found it hard to believe that this man could truly be religious.
"They are very strange in appearance, and they move as warriors." The Jaguar Knight thought carefully as he answered. "I suspect they do not come in friendship."
"Caxal is worried that these strangers are the harbingers of Qotal himself, that the Feathered One returns to Maztica at Twin Visages, even as was prophesied." Kachin spoke ironically, and Gultec regarded the cleric of Qotal curiously. It was not at all like a priest to speak in such tones about his own god.
Kachin chuckled wryly. "I surprise you. I will tell you a thing, Jaguar Knight, and you should believe it: These men are not the servants of Qotal. Their vessels do not carry the. Silent Counselor back to our shores."
"How can you know this?" Gultec demanded. "Have you seen them?"
"Do you think a priest of Qotal would not know if his True Master were even now awaiting a proper welcome?" Ka-chin looked harshly at Gultec, his stare making the warrior feel like a worm twisting on a dangling hook.
"Listen to me, Gultec! These are men, and they are dangerous men. It will be up to Payits such as you and me to make sure that their menace does not become our catastrophe!"
The knight regarded the cleric with growing respect. This man was very different from the weakling Mixtal. For a brief moment, Gultec regretted the training that had planted him among the Jaguar Knights, the worshipers of warlike Zaltec.
The cleric seemed to read his thoughts, for he said, not unkindly, "The glory of a god does not need to be measured by the pile of bodies heaped in his honor. This is the error of the younger gods, and their bloodlust may well cause the disaster that will destroy the True World."
Kachin's tone suddenly grew harsh- "I meant what I told you in Ulatos: If you or that knife-wielding 'priest' has slain the girl, Erixitl, I will exact retribution… in blood."
"Then why do you offer me counsel now?" snarled the knight.
"We face a more urgent challenge than our own quarrel," replied the cleric, and Gultec could sense the deep sincerity in Kachin's voice. "I fear that the future of the world we know is at stake." Kachin's voice hushed slightly, betraying his profound concern.
Gultec growled inaudibly. He did not seek the counsel of clerics, did not like it when it was offered. Yet there was something ultimately believable in this cleric that forced j Gultec to respect him. He was clearly very wise, and his bravery could not be questioned either. Never had a cleric dared to speak to Gultec as this one had-and twice in one day!
And if this cleric was frightened by the strangers, Gultec thought that they must be very dangerous indeed.
"Do not let her get away!" Mixtal admonished the four apprentices, each